I was climbing at Ben Cairn on the weekend and didn't pay enough attention to the guidebooks suggestion to bring a wire brush. I did a hell of a lot of gardening on lead.

It got me thinking, what did the classic lines of victoria look like before they were polished by 1000 rock shoes? I know the watchtower was covered in lichan... any old timers have stories of excavating classic routes?

Did Status Quo again the other day. Gave it another little garden, but it was really still climbable from last season's cleaning. Did the RH crack start (after a little more cleaning) and it's fab. Still think it's an awesome route. Hurry up and get on it before it's lost to the jungle again.